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Kramer
Body Shapes
It
seems like all of us Kramer nuts generally argue over the differences
in body shapes used. Additionally, it always seems like some poor soul
on ebay is getting screwed around by buying what they think is an actual
Baretta body, but turns out to be a Focus or Striker. I've compiled
the pictures and animation below to show off the differences in the
body shapes. Disclaimer: These drawings in the animation were traced
exact to pictures I had of actual Kramer bodies. They are VERY close
to what I've actually seen when I've laid the bodies down on top of
each other to compare.
Kramer Body Shapes
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DMZ |
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XL5 |
Challenger |
Duke |
Floyd
Rose Sig. |
Voyager
Round Pts. |
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Vanguard
Round Pts. |
Pacer |
Focus |
Baretta |
Horn
Scoop Baretta |
Tele
(SC3) |
Vanguard
Pointed |
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Voyager
Pointed |
Condor |
Dinky
Soloist |
Large
Body Soloist |
Archtop
Stagemaster |
Striker |
Focus
2000 |
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Elliot
Easton |
Nightswan |
Paul
Dean |
Savant |
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Body
Woods Used
Alder
- Very common wood for Kramers, medium weight, medium brightness and
low end.
Maple - Heavy, very bright. Used with Barettas, Pacers,
Voyagers, Vanguards and more.
Mahogany - Very low end and mid-range wood type. Used
on Stagemasters, Paul Deans, Nightswans, and more.
Mahogany with maple top - Used on the Liberty, Pacer
SC3, and Pacer DC3
Poplar - Used on Pacers, Voyagers, Vanguards, Barettas
and more. Has "green" coloration when viewed with no finish.
Thought of as a "cheaper" wood among instrument makers, but
not a horrible wood type.
Basswood - Used on many overseas Kramers, it is thought
that Basswood was not used on American Series models.
Plywood or Laminate - Used exclusively on cheaper overseas
models except for the Focus and Fx00 series.
Body
Animation Showing Shapes
Frame Descriptions
Frame 1 - 1983/1984 Baretta body RED
Frame 2 - 1985-89 Baretta I body BLUE
Frame 3 - 1985/1989 body layered on 1985-89
Frame 4 - Overseas Focus body YELLOW
Frame 5 - Focus body layered over both Baretta bodies
Frame 6 - Striker Body GREEN
Frame 7 - Striker body layered over all bodies. |
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Baretta/Pacer
Bodies - Most Baretta and Pacer bodies resemble these three
shapes. Even though the pictures depict Barettas below, starting at
1983, most Pacers and Barettas utilized the same body shapes. The 1983/84
body is more round towards the bottom than the 85-89's. Additionally,
the body contours on the 83/84's are more sharp, and not as rounded.
That is, if you were to rest your arm on the arm cut "round-over"
area, the round portion is more sharp. Another example is the tummy
cut. The tummy cut round over has a much sharper transition between
the sanded area and the flat area. Additionally, the 85-89 bodies are
more "flat" at the bottom of the shape from a top view. The
1984's tend to be a bit more rounded, sort of like the Pacer Special
bodies like Edward Van Halen used on his 5150 guitar. Additionally,
all Baretta bodies feature the "canon" input jack with no
jack plate compared to overseas Focus models. One other thing to note
is that all bodies through part of 1986 had a truss rod notch at the
neck joint, even though Kramer moved to a "top of the neck"
trussrod adjustment in the 1985 time frame. Additionally, the recessed
cavity bodies came into play around 1987 in the E11000 to E12000 serial
number range.
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1983/84
Baretta Body
Sharper body contours
Smaller Profile (compared to 85)
Rounded bottom
Flat mount tremolo route
Truss Rod notch at neck joint |
1985-1987
Baretta Body
Rounded, smooth body contours
Wider bottom (left to right in picture)
More "flat" bottom edge
Flat mount tremolo route
Truss Rod notch at neck joint |
1988-1989
Baretta Body
Rounded, smooth body contours
Fret Access contour on lower horn
More "flat" bottom edge
Recessed mount tremolo route
Truss Rod notch at neck joint |
Baretta
/ Pacer Additional Body
Characteristics
The
Floyd holes have a smaller cutout towards the bottom on the hole
to allow for "more improved" floating than that of the
1984 bodies. However, these can still be setup for the Floyd to
be flush mounted. Focus bodies are perfect rectangles, like the
1983/84 Baretta bodies. |
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Kramer
introduced a form of a "tremblock" around the 1987 time
frame. The device consists of a piece of metal that the bottom of
the Floyd pairs up with in order to keep pull-backs from occurring
with the Floyd. Additionally, the Floyd can be locked so that it
has no movement at all with this device (shown here without trem-springs
and Floyd installed). |
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In
most cases, the canon jack was used on all Pacer and Baretta bodies
(I can at least confirm this on the 84's and up). If you see a body
on ebay that has a plate mounted jack, it is most likely an overseas
model. There are some instances where you will see the jackplate
on American bodies, but usually its because of a conversion job. |
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The
truss rod notch was a feature present prior to 1984, but was carried
on through 84 and part of 85. Even Barettas that shipped with the
truss rod adjustment at the headstock shipped with these bodies
in 1985, and changed sometime around this time frame. as well. Note:
I have yet to be able to get an allen wrench or screwdriver in one
of these notches for adjustment, they are rather useless IMO. |
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Factory
Body Modifications for Assembly Fit
Sometimes body modications were necessary at the factory in order
to install hardware, pickups, or tremolos. Many bodies I've seen have
modifications made after painting. So, if you're Kramer appears to have
wood exposed in tremolo, pickup, or control cavities, don't always assume
this is an aftermarket modification. I asked Steve Z, a former Kramer
employee, about these modifications. Here was his response:
From Steve Z, former Kramer Employee
"I was working at Kramer when FR's were being installed. It
wasn't really a Sports (maker of Kramer bodies from 1981-1985) problem
as much as a variable finish thickness problem. The only way to make
sure it cleared was to cut the finish right down to the wood but not
so much that you could see it when the bridge was in the normal position.
Sometimes the wood needed to be cleared out. The pocket needed to be
a little bigger near the arm for the Floyds. Eventually Sports would
get revised templates and ship new bodies that didn't need much tweaking,
but we had to use up the bodies that were in house first. The same thing
with the neck pockets and sometimes the PU pockets where the screws
would hit the body."
Focus Bodies
The Focus bodies tend to be more slender, and this is generally
noticeable without having to compare directly from the animation above.
While the shape is different, its still not a bad body for what you
might pay on ebay. These bodies are generally made of Alder, and have
just as good of a tone as an American Series Baretta Alder body. Focus
bodies also seem to have the bridge and pickup just a tad bit higher
towards the neck pocket (from a top view) than that of the Baretta bodies.
Most Focus bodies also use a jack plate as opposed to the canon jack
like in the Barettas and Pacers. This is a dead giveaway on ebay if
you see a body with a jackplate, its not a Baretta or Pacer. Tonally,
they sound great.
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1985-1988
Focus Body
Rounded, smooth body contours
Slender bottom (left to right in picture)
More "flat" bottom edge
Flat mount tremolo route (although some had recessed routes, rare)
Most have Truss Rod notch at neck joint
Body is taller (from top to bottom in picture)
Bridge and pickups sit more towards the neck pocket than Barettas. |
Striker Bodies
- BEWARE! Striker bodies are plywood, and are easily distinguishable
by the lower horn (right most in picture) kicking out and to the right
more than Focus and Baretta bodies. They are smaller scale, and more
rounded at the bottom as well. Since they are plywood, these bodies
tend to be VERY HEAVY. Buyer beware, you may see these on ebay as Baretta
bodies, or even installed with Baretta parts.
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1987
Striker Body
More rounded at bottom of guitar body
Slender bottom (left to right in picture)
Right-most horn "kicks out" more than Baretta/Pacer/Focus
bodies.
Flat mount tremolo route (later models had recessed)
Body is smaller than Baretta/Pacer/Focus bodies
Body made of plywood, very heavy.
Rounded bottom from top view compared to Focus bodies. |
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